Chlorine dioxide is known to have bleaching, disinfecting and sterilizing properties. Another significant property of chlorine dioxide is that it is not stable for long periods of time. Consequently, chlorine dioxide is typically used in large scale industrial applications where the chlorine dioxide can be used shortly after it has been generated. Common uses for chlorine dioxide include bleaching paper and flour, and disinfecting municipal water supplies.
Chlorine dioxide has also been used at a smaller scale in places such as hospitals to sterilize or disinfect medical instruments and devices. In hospital applications, chlorine dioxide has been generated by mixing a sodium chlorite solution with an organic acid solution. By mixing the sodium chlorite solution with the organic acid solution, a disinfectant solution is generated. The disinfectant solution, which includes small amounts of sodium chloride, as well as residual sodium chlorite and residual organic acids, is used for disinfection or sterilization purposes within the hospital setting.
The use of chlorine dioxide for hospital applications, as described above, is problematic for several reasons. First, the process has relatively low yields of chlorine dioxide. Hence, the process is relatively expensive. Also, both sodium chlorite and organic acids have corrosive qualities. As a result, the disinfectant solution described above also has corrosive effects which can be harmfuil when used to disinfect objects such as medical equipment.
What is needed is a method and apparatus for efficiently generating chlorine dioxide in relatively small scales at a local level. What is also needed is a method and apparatus for efficiently generating non-corrosive chlorine dioxide solutions for use as a disinfectant in settings such as hospitals, restaurants, stores, or any other place an environmentally friendly and safe disinfectant is needed. What is further needed is a method and apparatus for rapidly transferring chlorine dioxide gas to a solution in a controlled manner. The present invention addresses the above described needs as well as other needs.